HARVEY RECOVERY: 5 WAYS YOU CAN HELP

The following is taken from Senior Planet and I think there are some important ideas below.

During the desperate days of flooding in Texas last week, much of the rescue effort was organized and carried out by regular citizens, many of them far from Houston, using simple digital tools. Official emergency phone lines were backed up, so Twitter became the place to cry for help—and across the country, people found ways to amplify and act on those tweets. A small group dubbed @HarveyRescue created an open database—a simple Google spreadsheet—and via social media mobilized an army of remote volunteers to enter details from the SOS messages that Texans were tweeting. Other volunteers helped to create a rescue map using the data in that spreadsheet. And those with access to boats used the online map, along with an app-based walkie-talkie system, to find folks who were trapped in their homes with the waters rising.

Now the recovery effort has started, and regular people are pitching in again. You may already have donated (see here for local, on-the-ground organizations that are funneling 100% of received funds to those in need). But there’s more you can do—including help with phase two of @HarveyRescue.

1. Use the Amazon Wishlist

Lysol disinfectant, large plastic totes, fruit leather—these are some of the items currently needed at shelters around the Houston area and for clean-up. To help with the logistics of getting the items to where they’re needed, the Red Cross and Amazon have created a wishlist. All you have to do is select one or more items, place them in your cart and check out. Amazon will deliver what you’ve bought directly to an operational center. The list is a work in progress, so you can check back frequently.

Click here to donate items via Amazon

2. Open Your Home

AirBnB is making it easy for people in areas of Texas and Louisiana to offer temporary shelter to evacuees—just a room or a whole home. The site is waiving service fees for anyone checking in by September 25 and has created a simple page with two buttons: I Need a Place to Stay and I Can Offer My Place for Free. More than 500 people have already posted their offers.

Click here to see which areas are covered. You’ll have to create an AirBnB account to get started.

3. Verify Information with @HarveyRecovery

If you have some spare time, you can make phone calls to verify the accuracy of information that’s being collected about available shelters, food distribution centers, hospitals, crisis lines and other resources for people who’ve been affected by Hurricane Harvey. The list is being created by @HarveyRelief—formerly known as @HarveyRescue, the group that created the open database during the flood. Like that spreadsheet, this list is open to anyone who has information to add, so your job is to make sure the info is correct before it’s mapped by other volunteers. The map is available to anyone who needs help.

Click here to access the list and read instructions. Note that you’ll need to know how to highlight text (it’s easy if you ask someone).

4. Use Aerial Images to Plot Damage

The catastrophic flooding in Texas downed bridges, flooded homes, blocked roads and created large piles of trash over a large area. Before the damage can be fixed, it has to be mapped. If you’re computer savvy and have a good eye, that’s where you come in. Tomnod is a crowdsourcing site that helps in post-disaster situations by presenting satellite imagery and relying on thousands of people around the world to search those images for specific signs. You’ll be shown what to look for; when you see it, you tag it using your mouse and keyboard. Then you move on to another square in the satellite image grid.

Click here to access Tomnod for Harvey

5. Be a FEMA Reservist

If you’re able to travel and have experience in any of a number of specialized occupations (for example: customer service, media relations, insurance, data entry) consider this on-call opportunity to help. FEMA will train you and call you when your services are needed on the ground in Houston; some tasks may be remote. This is a paid gig.

Click here for more information

If you know of other ways to help, please add them in the comments section below.

In retirement exercise regime drops off

Major life transitions such as retirement may lead to changes in physical activity levels. Remaining physically active after retirement can help promote physical health and wellness and help prevent chronic disease. Remaining healthy is a priority for most of us when we retire, however a study found that retirees are not that good at keeping up our exercise regime after about a year of retirement.

The review included 21 randomized controlled trials with 10, 519 participants aged 55-70 years, and 15 of the trials were combined statistically. Interventions involved group education and a standard goal of 150 min of physical activity per week, with some interventions being tailored to the participants. Physical activity was measured either by self-report or devices such as pedometers. Those exposed to physical activity interventions were compared to those who received either no intervention or minimal intervention, and activity levels were measured from 12 months to up to 24 months after the intervention.

When measured using a pedometer, step counts were significantly higher at 12 months, among those who received the intervention compared to those not exposed. When measured by self-report, physical activity levels were significantly higher at 12 months among those who received the intervention compared to those not exposed. In the longer term however (18-24 months) these positive effects were not maintained. The optimal number of intervention sessions appeared to be 11.

In adults of retirement age, physical activity interventions are effective at increasing step count and physical activity levels at 12 months but not 24 months after the intervention. The number of contacts beyond 11 does not result in ongoing increases in physical activity levels.

Do you want to work after you retire?

 A day after labor day in Canada, I thought I would explore the idea of working after retirement. According to a survey of pre-retire's 51% would consider working past retirement aga.

More than one in five (21 per cent) pensioners have gone back to work since they reached the Pension age, or are planning to do so in the future, according to new research from Prudential.

The rise of the retired job seeker, along with the growing trend for a period of pre-retirement as previously identified by Prudential, shows how the modern retirement reality continues to shift further from the traditional norm of giving up work for good on a set date.

The most common motivation for pensioners heading back into the jobs market is a desire to keep mentally active (61 per cent), although the need to boost retirement income 56 per cent) is also driving retirees back to work.

Voluntary work is the choice of around one in six (16 per cent) retirees who are back at work or plan to return in the future – underlining the point that it is not always financial reasons that drive pensioners to seek employment. Even those who are earning are likely to take a pay cut – more than half (51 per cent) say their post retirement wages will be lower than their previous income in employment.

Meanwhile, nearly one in 20 working past Pension age are earning more than they did before, while one in 12 are setting up their own companies.

Prudential has also analyzed ONS data and found that the most likely sectors for those working past State Pension age to find employment in are teaching and education, secretarial jobs and agricultural jobs.

According to the research from Prudential, women who have passed the State Pension age are more likely to have ruled out a return to work, with 51 per cent saying they’re definitely retired compared with 44 per cent of men. So, what are your job options in retirement?

Stick with your current job
You may have hit Pension age, but that doesn’t mean you have to automatically give up your current career. One in 10 people (11%) surveyed who plan to work past state pension age would stay full time in their current jobs.

You could also go part time. More than a quarter of people in the study (27%) who aim to work past state pension age said they would stay in their current job, but reduce their working hours. It’s a chance to gradually shift into retirement mode.

Sign up for voluntary or charitable work    
When working past state pension age, many people may be motivated by reasons other than money. It can be a chance to have a renewed purpose and stay active in your community. Or it could just be because you may miss the routine.

About a quarter of everyone we surveyed (26%) were planning on doing some voluntary or charity work. 

Start your own business    
Retirement can be a time to make your long-held dreams become a reality. That may include starting a new venture. We found that 7 per cent of people surveyed said they would like to set up their own business. You could:

·       Follow your passion and try earning money from your hobby. That’s what 13% of those who plan to work past their state pension age aim to do.

·       Use the skills from your previous career to make and sell a product or sell your services.

·       Learn a new skill to create a product or service.

Whether you set up your own venture, go part time or volunteer, the big benefit is being able to choose how you fit your new working life around the other exciting things on your retirement ‘life list’ that you’d like to do.

It’s also important to think about your future income. This could be from any pensions and savings, as well as your retirement job. Carefully consider your finances, and even talk to your pension provider, so you can find your ideal lifestyle – in work and beyond.


*Research Plus conducted an independent online survey for Prudential between 25 November and 8 December 2015, among 9,318 non-retired UK adults aged 45+, including 1,000 planning to retire in 2016.

Should you have a PSA test for Prostate Cancer?

At my age, I have had a number of friends who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and some after further tests have found that did not actually had the disease and I wondered why. Many of my friends were given a PSA test by their doctor. I found out that this test is not as reliable as one may think. The information below is from the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health. They do not recommend the PSA be used for screening for Prostate cancer. However, each of is unique and I would recommend that you talk to your doctor about this test.

The PSA test is a blood test that is commonly used to detect possible prostate cancer. Elevated PSA levels may indicate the presence of prostate cancer, but can also be caused by other common non-cancer related conditions such as an enlarged prostate (also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH) or inflammation of the prostate gland (also known as prostatitis) due to an infection or other cause.

 2. Why does the CTFPHC recommend against PSA screening for prostate cancer?

The CTFPHC recommends against PSA screening because they found that the potential harms of screening outweigh the benefits.

3. Are there any other tests that can detect prostate cancer?

Currently no other screening tests have been proven to accurately identify prostate cancer. Several tests are being developed to improve the accuracy of PSA screening. However, right now there is not enough evidence to tell us whether or not they are accurate.

4. Why are there harms with PSA screening? Isn't it a simple blood test?

The PSA test is a simple blood test, but if the result is positive, men are likely to then undergo further tests such as a biopsy. There are several harms associated with biopsies, as described below. In addition, there is a risk that you will be diagnosed and treated for a slow-growing cancer that would not have caused any trouble in your lifetime.

5. What if I still want the PSA test?

Because of recent efforts to encourage screening for prostate cancer, some men may still be interested in the test. Talk to your doctor about the benefits and harms of PSA screening.

There is a benefit of having PSA screening. The benefit is a lower risk of dying from prostate cancer

1 out of every 1,000 men will escape death from prostate cancer because they were screened with PSA.

However, the task force sees the following harms with having PSA screening

False-positive results

Most men who have a positive PSA result will undergo a prostate biopsy.

A false-positive result occurs when a man with a positive PSA result undergoes a biopsy, with the biopsy showing that he does not have prostate cancer.

178 out of every 1,000 men screened with the PSA test will have an unnecessary biopsy to confirm they do not have prostate cancer.

Complications of prostate biopsy

Prostate biopsy carries a number of complications, including blood in the urine or semen, rectal bleeding, infection and in rare cases, death.

·       21 out of every 1,000 men who undergo prostate biopsy will have complications severe enough to require hospitalization.

·       2 out of every 1,000 men who undergo prostate biopsy will die within 120 days of the biopsy, because of complications.

Over diagnosis

Over diagnosis is the detection of cancers that grow so slowly they would not have caused illness or death during the man’s lifetime.

Almost half of all the cancers detected through PSA screening would not have caused illness or death in the man’s lifetime. However, because of uncertainty about whether their cancer would progress, most men will choose treatment and may experience complications of treatment.

Harms of treatment

For every 1,000 men who receive treatment for prostate cancer:

·       114–214 will have short-term complications such as infections, additional surgeries, and blood transfusions

·       127–442 will experience long-term erectile dysfunction

·       up to 178 will experience long-term urinary incontinence

·       4 or 5 will die from complications of prostate cancer surgery

Statistics related to benefits and harms were calculated from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) and the prostate cancer screening review.